Page 57 of The Coffee Bar on Camellia Court

"I used the mixer all by myself," Lena declared, bouncing on her toes.

Dwight Frampton emerged from the house, carrying a blanket and what looked like bug spray. "Good to see you, Juno," he said, handing the items to her. "Been too long."

After a few more minutes of pleasant conversation, Alex turned to Lena. "Okay, Lena-bug, are you ready for our picnic?”

Lena grabbed Roxanne’s hand. “I’m having supper with Grandma and Grandpa so you and Juno can have a date.”

Juno looked between Alex and his mother. Alex's cheeks reddened. "Uh… it's a picnic, Lena."

"That's what a date is," Lena informed him matter-of-factly. "It's when two people who like each other spend time together. And you do like Juno, right? You said she was pretty and smart and—"

"Hey now," Alex interrupted. He reached over and tugged on one of Lena’s curls, then cupped a hand at the side of his mouth, and in a mock whisper said, "That's top secret intel there, missy."

Juno bit back a laugh, touched by Alex's embarrassment and Lena's innocent candor. Roxanne wasn't even trying to hide her amusement. “Okay!” she said, poking Alex in the arm. “I guess it’s just the two of us, then.” She wasn’t exactly disappointed, if she were being honest.

"Come on, Lena," Roxanne said, taking her granddaughter's hand. "Let's go see if those cookies have cooled enough to decorate."

Lena squealed with delight, her attention successfully diverted. But before she followed Roxanne inside, she darted back to throw her arms around Alex's waist.

"Have fun, Daddy," she said. Then she skipped away, leaving Alex standing there looking like he wanted the ground to swallow him whole.

24

Juno

"Sorryaboutthat,"Alexsaid, as they started down the path toward the lake.

"Don't be," Juno said, unable to suppress her smile. "She's great."

"She is, isn't she? I still can't believe she's mine." A note of pride rang through his voice.

The dock stretched about twenty feet into the lake, with a covered seating area, complete with a couple of Adirondack chairs and a table between them, at the end. “Chairs or the deck?” Alex asked.

“Let’s do the chairs while the sun is still up, then move to the deck.”

Alex gave her a sideways look, one brow arched. “Does that mean you’re sticking around until after the sun goes down?”

“I didn’t come all the way out here just to miss the sunset over the lake,” she declared, the flutter in her stomach ramping up at how easy it was to flirt with him now that they were on flirting terms. It made her sad to think of how much fun they’d missed out on having with each other over the years.

"I should warn you," Alex said as he began unpacking the basket and setting out one container after another on the table. “My mother thinks I'm still a growing boy."

Juno laughed, helping him arrange the feast: sandwiches, pasta salad, fresh fruit, cheese and crackers, and at least a dozen sugar cookies decorated with multicolored sprinkles.

"These must be Lena's," Juno said, holding up a cookie with a particularly enthusiastic distribution of rainbow sprinkles.

"Definitely." Alex grinned. "Subtlety is not yet in her repertoire."

As the sun began its slow descent toward the horizon, they migrated to the end of the dock where they spread the blanket on the wooden planks. Alex removed his walking boot and they sat with their legs dangling over the edge of the pier, their feet in the cool lake water. It was exactly as Juno had imagined, the seashell sky above them and its shimmering reflection on the water, the cool breezes cooling their sun-warmed skin, the cicada and crickets starting up their cacophonous choruses all around them, punctuated by the low throttle of bullfrog calls. Conversation flowed easily between them, Juno telling Alex about her plans to expand the coffee shop, and Alex sharing stories from the day with his parents and Lena.

"She asked about you, you know," Alex said, bracing his hands on the deck on either side of him, and leaning forward a little to peer into the water. Then he turned to meet her eyes. "She and Mom were going through old albums and she saw pictures of us. She wanted to know if you were my girlfriend back when we were kids."

Juno’s skin tingled, especially where their shoulders touched. His hand was right there between them; what would he do if she covered his with hers? "And what did you tell her?"

"The truth.” He didn’t look away. “That you were my first love, and that I was an idiot who didn't know how good I had it."

The frank admission caught her off guard. "Alex..."

"I'm not trying to put pressure on you," he assured her quickly, touching her thigh with his pinky. "I just wanted you to know where I stand. After the misunderstandings, the letters, the time that's passed, I feel like we've been given a rare second chance. And I don't want to waste it."

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